Pakistani shelling devastates Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch, reduces homes to ruins | Videos
In Poonch, a total of 44 people have sustained injuries due to heavy firing by Pakistan across the LoC.
The Pakistani Army on Thursday night resorted to heavy firing across the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch, Uri, Kupwara, Tangdhar, and Karnah sectors of Jammu and Kashmir, as tensions escalate with India.
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Several people were injured, homes and vehicles were damaged, after Pakistan's shelling across the LoC, which has been going on for three days. Earlier that night, Pakistan had fired eight missile directed at Satwari, Samba, RS Pura and Arnia, which were intercepted and blocked by India's air defence system.
The boundary wall of a Gurdwara in a border village was also partially damaged due to the shelling.
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A local whose house was destroyed by the Pakistani shelling told ANI, “I can't understand what Pakistan thinks and does. This is not humanity. If Pakistan won't understand now, then what will it? If it weren't for our Armed Forces, we wouldn't have been able to sleep peacefully at night.”
The Pakistan military's move comes as a retaliation to India's Operation Sindoor, which destroyed terror infrastructure at nine targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).
In Poonch, a total of 44 people have sustained injuries due to ceasefire violations by Pakistan, according to the External Affairs Ministry. On Wednesday, after heavy firing across the LoC, thirteen people lost their lives in the district as well.
President of the District Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee, Narinder Singh, told ANI, “Poonch saw very heavy shelling yesterday. Bhai Amrik Singh, a raagi, in our gurudwara, died in the shelling; he was in his shop located on the ground floor of his house when this happened. A shell hit the gurdwara as well, but there was no one present here.”
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He added, "One Hindu child has been killed, four Sikhs have been killed, and many from the Muslim community have also lost their lives in the shelling... People have started migrating in large numbers..."
Chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Omar Abdullah, visited a hospital in Jammu on Friday, Poonch has suffered a huge loss. Poonch has the highest number of casualties and the most injured. I was in Jammu hospital sometime before, and all the injured admitted there are from Poonch...the situation in Poonch is grim. Dy CM is trying to reach Poonch, if he reaches there, he will meet the people there"
The Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir, Manoj Sinha, also visited villages in the Uri sector, on Friday to assess the damage caused by Pakistani shelling in civilian areas over the past three nights. He called for the district administration to provide immediate relief to those who had suffered losses.
